Heading to Sand Lake, OR on Sat. I will give you my impressions on how my 700 does in the Dunes next week, so be sure and check back.

I did purchase some Douglas Aluminum wheels and a pair of Skat Trak Edge Paddles. We'll see how well it works with this combination.

 

hey rpm, heres the deal. I have been saving my coins for a long time now and i just about have made my mine up to get a kfx 400. but now after reading about the v-force, i dont know what to do. I will probably spend most of my time in the woods but would like to eventually go to the track every now and then. Can the v-force handle some jumps, or should i just get the 400.

 

Rpm, great info thanks alot. I am very interested in buying a kfx700. All my friends have stock raptors i do not like raptors and i need something to put them on ice and to knock their cocky attitude how will this kfx700 deal with the raptors power
thanks again

 

airforce1,

The 700 is probably the best (2WD) Trail quad I have ever ridden. I wasn't sure what to expect the first time I took it out for a ride through the woods. It just plain exceeded all of my expectations in every aspect. The KFX400 is also a great trail quad, the only real limitation to it is the ground clearance, due to the Chain Sprocket and Disk Brake Rotor. This can cause you problems in the rutted stuff. As far as going to the track, the 700 is going to be more stable due to it's width, but you are not going to be able to throw it around like you would the 400. If it is a Tight MX style track, I would have to say that the 400 would have the edge, but not by much. If it is a larger GNCC style course, it is NO contest, the 700 all the way. Hope that helps.

raptorkilla,

Stock, the 700 is hard to beat in the short run, but as the speeds increase, it tends to fall off a little. I have not raced it against any Raptors, but the word is that from a dead stop up to 45-50mph, it's pretty hard to beat. They are saying that the loss of top end performance could possibly be due to the CDI. There are people working on this issue as we speak. As far as Mods go, this quads potental is almost limitless. Good Luck.

 

IMRESSIONS OF THE KFX700 AS A DUNE QUAD.

Spent the better part of the day at Sand Lake, on the Oregon Coast. I need to start out by giving anyone that has never been to Sand Lake, OR a quick run down on what kind of a riding area we are talking about. It is a Small area, and due to the fact that it is the closest sand to Portland, it gets extremely crowded. There are a couple of areas that riders like to race up hills (Bowl 1 & Bowl 2). They are not real tall, but are fairly steep. Other than that you have a few woods trails, with several big rolling hills. All in all, the area is very Small in comparison to most riding spots. With the large numbers of people and the closed in area, there is NOT ONE Square FOOT of Smooth Sand, and it tends to beat the H*LL out of you.

I bought a set of Skat Trak Edge (V) 8 Paddle tires on Douglas aluminum wheels. Overall, the 700 does very well in the sand. The stability is still there, and you have the usual incredible feel and complete control.

Climbing hills is done with ease. The Torque of this machine makes sort duty of even the steepest hills. The only downside that I could find (Most likely due to the V paddles & the weight) is the way the power tends to dig in deep and throw large quantities of sand. Under power, in comparison to other lighter quads (Including my KFX400) you could definitely notice that the 700 was leaving deeper tire ruts, in some cases getting down into the darker (Damp) sand, and it would do so further up the hill than the other quads.

The suspension was great. As I mentioned, Sand Lake is ROUGH!!! I spent the first half of the day on my 700, and I didn't realize just how well the suspension was dealing with the rough terrain until I switch to my 400 for the second half of the day. It was night and day.

Over all, I would give a Big thumbs up to the 700 as a Dune quad. Plenty of power on tap, smooth plush suspension, flawless auto trany, that takes any of the guess work out of climbing hills.

On the Down side, you really do notice the weight of the 700 in the sand. The only reason I can say this is the fact that I had both my 700 & my 400 there to compare each other too, and the 700 just seems to ride lower in the sand. The other thing is that if you intend on racing, either Hill Shooting or Drag Racing, I would suggest that you go with a Straight Paddle tire. The 700 needs all of the bite it can get with all of the Torque it has.

Now to answer the obvious questions.
First, I didn't do much racing. I raced a Piped P650, and beat it pretty easy, I raced a Piped/Filtered/Jetted Predator, and got beat by a few quad lengths. I was impressed, the Predator shot off the starting line like a bullet and that was about the difference at the finish. Just for Sh*ts & Giggles, I raced a full blown Modded Banshee, and got my A** handed to me in a Big way. That was to be expected.

Second, Which do I like better as a Dune quad, between the 700 and the 400? I would have to say that I preferred my KFX400 over my 700 for riding in the dunes. Why? It just felt quicker, and more responsive to me. It seemed to get up on top of the sand better and faster, and because of the fact that I can leave it in the gear of my choosing, I could make it do more. You definitely have to do more riding on the 400. The roughness (Did I mention that Sand Lake is ROUGH?) made you stay on your toes more with the 400, you feel everything. I need to say that I don't think that my 400 is actually any faster in the sand than the 700 is, it's more of a seat of the pants feeling than anything else.

In conclusion, I stand by my earlier declaration that the KFX700 is hands down the BEST 2WD Trail Quad I have ever ridden. I doubt that I will ever take my 400 out on a long trail ride again, the 700 is just so far above and beyond the 400 in that regard. As far as Dune riding goes, I wouldn't hesitate to spend the day in the sand on my 700, but if push came to shove (I don't know if my Wife will let me have the 700 back to ride in the Dunes anyway.) I would personally choose the KFX400 as my sand quad.

 

RPM... Thanks for all of the info. It is refreshing to read an educated and well written point of view. After reading all of your feedback, I'm leaning toward the V-Force 700 over the 400. I love riding automatics for the same reasons you stated, and when we ride dunes they are rough like your area due to all of the traffic.

Next up is to start working these dealers for a good price. I've seen the KFX 400's advertised for $4999 and another dealer quoted me $5200 because he has a bunch of yellow LTZs in stock. The dealers were not budging from the list price on the first arrivals of the V-Force, but maybe they will now that the new has worn off a little bit. The green is very cool on the 700 and that is my choice.

My buddy wants to buy my Polaris for his wife, so that knocks off about half the cost of a new one.

 

RPM--

That was a great write-up on Dunability!
I have a question for you: A friend of mine is in a quandry, trying to decide between the KFX 700 and a new Raptor. He rides about 90% of the time in sand, making that the driving force. He is familiar with the Raptor ability, but went and test rode a 700 last week and was very impressed. For me, reading your previous post, I would probably recommend the Raptor for the sand?? What do you think?

BTW, I was out at Sandlake the same weekend, sat and watched you guys ride for a bit. That was the first 700 I had been able to watch in the sand! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

If your Friend does 90% of his riding in the Sand, I would honestly have to recomend the Raptor. Let me say that I believe that once the Aftermarket starts to come alive for the KFX700, I think that the sky is the limit. But, I would say if riding the Dunes is your thing, I would go with a Banshee first, then either a Raptor, Predator or a Z/KFX400. This in no way downplays the abilities of the KFX700 as a dune quad and maybe if I had straight paddles on my 700 I would be singing a different tune. The 700 shines as a Trail quad, and that is where it does it's best work. But if your friend has his heart set on a KFX700, in all honesty, he wouldn't be dissapointed with the 700, it's a He!! of a ride. Hope that helps ya.

By the way, you should have said Hi.

 

I would have, didn't know it was someone from the forum until I got back and started reading![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Thanks for the response!

 

Give us the details......what mods have you done? Eight bikes sounds great.